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Recent Posts
- Psaltery & Lyre’s New Site
- 123 Psaltery & Lyre: “Agricola Dreams of Flying” by J. Rose Lara
- 122 Psaltery & Lyre: “Communion: a love poem (a villanelle)” by Rachel Bollinger
- Book Review: Philip Metres’s Sand Opera
- 121 Psaltery & Lyre: Rachael Matthews, “Horsehead Nebula”
- Book Review: Monica Ong’s Silent Anatomies
- 120 Psaltery & Lyre: Rachael Matthews, “Return, pt. III” and “Gaia”
- Book Review: Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
- Book Review: Matthea Harvey, If the Tabloids Are True What Are You?
- Book Review: LoterÃa Cards and Fortune Poems: A Book of Lives
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Columns Archive
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Walk to Church in San Jose, Costa Rica
Posted on March 18, 2012 | No CommentsSo I’ve got one more ride to church from the two weeks I spent in Costa Rica in January. This one is from San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, so it’s quite different from the other two which were from rural areas (see […] -
The Hallelujah Chorus
Posted on March 15, 2012 | 11 CommentsLet’s just get the Shrek connection out of the way. The strange inclusion of the song “Hallelujah” in the enormously successful 2001 animated film (that launched a million sequels) helped put Leonard Cohen’s enormously influential but not yet incredibly well known composition on the popular […] -
16 Dear Jack: McLDS
Posted on March 13, 2012 | 5 CommentsDear Jack, What, exactly, is The Handbook? Is it scripture? Is it not scripture? Is it revelation? Is it not revelation? How can we say we believe in teaching correct principles and letting individuals govern themselves if we have a 400+ page handbook? I’m sure […] -
Grondahl 13
Posted on March 13, 2012 | No CommentsFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation and Calvin Grondahl. -
A Preview of Things to Come?
Posted on March 12, 2012 | 4 CommentsMy son is the only boy in his Primary class, which makes him the only soon-to-be Young Man in the Valiant 11 group. He will be turning twelve this spring, which means he was also the only boy invited to the ward Priesthood Preview event, […] -
I Missed the Sweet Spot
Posted on March 7, 2012 | 13 CommentsSigh. I’ve been so anxious for my kids to get older, I forgot to enjoy what I’m now realizing was the sweet spot. The sweet spot occurs between the years of 6 and 11, give or take a year or two depending on […] -
My Emails with Andre
Posted on March 6, 2012 | 7 CommentsO Lord, how long shall thy hand be stayed from, and thine eye behold, the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants inflicted by our much prayed for, but now regrettable … Mormon Moment? By my calculations, The Mormon Moment began on June […] -
15 Dear Jack: It’s All True
Posted on March 5, 2012 | 5 Comments"There is no one thing that's true. It's all true." -
Grondahl 12
Posted on March 5, 2012 | No CommentsFor other cartoons in this series, click here. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation, the publisher, and Calvin Grondahl. -
Walk to Two Churches in Santa Elena, Costa Rica
Posted on March 4, 2012 | No CommentsI spent the first two weeks of 2012 in Costa Rica (and have written about it here and here). Bottom line–I had no kids to tend to and all the time in the world to wander around strange cities and take pictures. Thus, a […] -
22 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Look Mom, No Hands!
Posted on March 2, 2012 | 18 CommentsIt's a "Look Ma, No Hands!" approach to issue management. We want to say, "look, we aren't racists, and we have no idea why that racist policy was enforced for 130 years." -
So You Think You Can Write LDS Newsroom Press Releases
Posted on March 1, 2012 | 7 CommentsThere's a little known LDS tradition that on Leap Day, ordinary members of the church can write fantasy press releases for the LDS newsroom. Here are some of the ones we've collected from among our friends and neighbors for Leap Day 2012. -
The Sacredness of Manhood
Posted on February 29, 2012 | 30 CommentsToday’s guest post comes to us from Angela Felsted, who is a musician, poet, and nature lover. Her work has appeared in issue fifteen of Drown in Your Own Fears, in Chantarelle’s Notebook, and in Vine Leaves Literary Journal. You can find more of her […] -
Onward and Upward
Posted on February 26, 2012 | 13 CommentsMy son made a basket during the final game of his fifth grade basketball season yesterday! It was a beautiful shot, let me tell you. I was holding my breath the entire time. He jumped up, grabbed the rebound, did a half pivot and launched […] -
Ride to Church in Columbus, Mississippi
Posted on February 26, 2012 | 7 CommentsToday’s ride to church comes to us from Lori in Columbua, Missippi. Thanks, Lori! -
21 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Half a Foot (or Church)
Posted on February 26, 2012 | 14 CommentsThe "nicer" men are about the patriarchal structure of the church, the more likely it is to be perpetuated. The best way for men to promote change in this context may be to act like authoritarian jerks. -
Updated :Grondahl 11– caption contest
Posted on February 25, 2012 | 6 CommentsThe cartoon for this caption contest is VERY open-ended. Again, remember that if you know the original caption, don’t tell! I’ll reveal the original next Saturday, along with the winner of the contest, who receives nothing but accolades and bragging rights. Here’s the original Grondahl […] -
A gift of bread or stones?
Posted on February 23, 2012 | 5 CommentsIf a gift harms someone, is it really a gift? Can we tell the difference between bread and rocks, or do we need to read some parables again? -
Why don’t Mormons celebrate Lent?
Posted on February 22, 2012 | 24 CommentsToday is Ash Wednesday. Before I spent eight years in Louisiana, I would not even have known what Ash Wednesday was. I grew up in the Bible belt, so I knew plenty of Baptists, a few Methodists and Presbyterians, perhaps, but not many […] -
Ebony and Ivory: discussing the politics of race with young children
Posted on February 21, 2012 | 8 CommentsIn the post-Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday period and in the midst of Black History Month, my kindergartner has had a lot of questions about race. Not particularly about the children in her class or our friends of different races, but particularly WHY "'most homeless people have dark skin. " -
Grondahl 10
Posted on February 20, 2012 | 7 CommentsPoor guy must be at Utah State instead of BYU. For other cartoons in this series, click here. ; This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation, the publisher, and Calvin Grondahl. ; -
20 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Half a Church
Posted on February 19, 2012 | 60 CommentsI have brought my daughter, dressed up and nervous with anticipation, gift in hand, to a birthday party where the boys will decide what games to play and what the rules will be. . . -
Ride to Church and a Volcano in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Posted on February 19, 2012 | 6 CommentsI spent the first two weeks of 2012 in Costa Rica with 18 female undergraduate students from my university. It was a fascinating trip in so many ways. I’ve never been to Costa Rica before, so that was amazing. And it was […] -
14 Dear Jack: Self-Love
Posted on February 18, 2012 | 11 CommentsWe can and should make ethical and moral choices about our sexual behavior, but attaching that morality to perfectly healthy and normal biological responses or our fugitive thoughts is a mistake. -
Defying Gender Stereotypes
Posted on February 15, 2012 | No CommentsThis is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. I’m thrilled to share this with y’all and hope that some of you participate in the contest. My friend and fellow Huntsville High School graduate, Jeremy Hilton, recently won a contest […] -
Too Late to Party Like It’s 1999?
Posted on February 14, 2012 | 1 CommentAs a Mormon, my "one-true" nightclubbing years were spent as a newly wed trying to prove I was much older and more mature than my years let on, dutifully planning my family while my peers were partying it up. Here I was on the flip side trying to be hip enough despite my parent card as my peers now gladly trade in their dancing shoes for evenings with new babies. -
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Posted on February 12, 2012 | 2 CommentsIn the space of just four weeks during the most recent holiday season, I had to purchase three new tires for my Mormon mommy minivan. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? I certainly thought so. For the record, I prefer tire shops with mangy […] -
Grondahl 9
Posted on February 12, 2012 | No CommentsIf you’d like to see other cartoons in this series go to https://dovesandserpents.org/category/columns/grondahl-restored/ This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation, the publisher, and Calvin Grondahl. -
Ride to the Houston Mormon Stories Conference
Posted on February 12, 2012 | 6 CommentsA couple weeks ago, my husband (Mr. Cheap Seats) and I were lucky enough to get to attend the Texas Mormon Stories conference in Houston. We even participated on a panel of people talking about navigating misfit-Mormon issues as parents. I’m guessing that after […] -
Inviting the demons in for tea
Posted on February 9, 2012 | 4 CommentsAs my son and I approached the enclosure at the dog park yesterday, we were excited to see another Samoyed eagerly waiting at the fence. Her owner seemed excited too — Samoyeds seem to know that they are rare breed and thrive playing with each […] -
Staff Stacks
Posted on February 8, 2012 | 8 CommentsWhat the D&S writers are reading, watching, listening to, eating and browsing right now. -
Are all white people racist?
Posted on February 8, 2012 | 15 CommentsI recently saw this embarrassment of a video on Facebook: http://youtu.be/XGeMy-6hnr0 There are so many things wrong with the video, it’s hard to know where to start. I cringed when I saw the guy dressing up in black face, but I admit that I […] -
Every Mother’s Nightmare
Posted on February 7, 2012 | 3 Comments"Unspeakable" is an interesting way for me to label this crime, especially considering statistics show an American is sexually assaulted every 2.5 minutes. Yet as much as I teach my children not to take candy from strangers or to stay away from suspicious white vans without windows, this is a subject about which I haven't spoken to them. -
Grondahl 8
Posted on February 5, 2012 | No CommentsIf you’d like to see other cartoons in this series go to https://dovesandserpents.org/category/columns/grondahl-restored/ This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation, the publisher, and Calvin Grondahl. -
On Thin Places
Posted on February 5, 2012 | 15 CommentsI’ve been chewing my way through The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus Borg, a professor of religion and culture at Oregon State University. Borg’s is a very universal, ecumenical message. He’s Christian, and his heart is committed to his faith, […] -
Ride to Church in Edmonton
Posted on February 5, 2012 | 6 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Terry in Edmonton, who writes: I live in Edmonton, which is in central Alberta, Canada. I was born here, but soon moved away, then back and away again – but somehow, Edmonton was always, and still is, […] -
13 Dear Jack: Don’t Lose Heart
Posted on February 3, 2012 | 12 Comments; Dear Jack, My shifting faith away from Mormonism hasn’t created a problem with my parenting decisions – until now as my kids hit their teen years. My 16-year old son hangs out with other kids who seem like nice, reasonable and fun teenagers. Often […] -
Mind the Gap
Posted on February 1, 2012 | 20 CommentsI recently re-read Carol Lynn Pearson’s amazing No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons around Our Gay Loved Ones for the second time because a woman in my very-Mormon book club picked it for us to read. For me, it was at least as inspiring […] -
Rogue Cinema: Enjoy the Silence
Posted on January 31, 2012 | 4 CommentsThe Artist is a bold, artsy stroke hidden in a big-hearted familiar story, or maybe it's the other way around? -
19 A Mormon in the Cheap Seats: Organizational Physics
Posted on January 30, 2012 | 6 CommentsSo here it is. The one inmutable law of organizations. As long as #4 is greater than #2, the organization will grow (and continue to amass resources). -
Ride to Church in Vienna
Posted on January 29, 2012 | 10 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Dean, who is living in Vienna, Austria right now. Dean writes: ; We are living in Grinzing, the northernmost community in the city, which is nestled against the vineyards and hills of the Vienna Woods. Founded […] -
Grondahl 7
Posted on January 28, 2012 | No CommentsI love Grondahl’s representation of people. Mormon people, as lumpy, tired, pasty people. And, the kids, monstrous kids, running wild and irreverent. ; If you’d like to see other cartoons in this series go to https://dovesandserpents.org/category/columns/grondahl-restored/ This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind […] -
Dog Heaven
Posted on January 26, 2012 | 8 Comments. You know how we all imagine that 'dog heaven' will be a place where dogs get to do what dogs like, like ride in cars with their heads hanging out the window or run through meadows chasing balls and sticks? Somehow, 'Mormon heaven' has never sounded like 'Claire heaven' to me. -
You Lost Me
Posted on January 25, 2012 | 14 CommentsBy day, I fancy myself a qualitative researcher. That means that people’s stories matter to me-significantly more than their answers to Likert scale questions. I’ll read a qualitative research study from just about any academic discipline-but skip right over the quantitative stuff. […] -
Dusting Polygamy from the Shelf
Posted on January 23, 2012 | 24 Comments“Families are Forever” reads the plaque, its vinyl modern font letters set against an artful antique finish. It’s the catch-phrase of modern Mormonism, a way of life for the most devout and the last holdout belief for those who struggle or find themselves at odds […] -
Ride to Church in Corpus Christi
Posted on January 22, 2012 | 5 CommentsIn October of last year, I spent a couple days in Corpus Christi at a work conference. One morning, I put on my running shoes, bought a cheap disposable camera in the hotel gift shop, and headed out for a run. I ran for […] -
Can a Virtual Cupcake Make Me Fat?
Posted on January 19, 2012 | 2 CommentsThe phrase "it takes a village" surfaces a deep longing for living in a time when I might have had a village. Nostalgic thoughts of sharing housework, childcare and my entire day with other "villagers" has always sounded nothing less than divine and impossible. -
Pura Vida
Posted on January 18, 2012 | 3 CommentsI just spent two weeks in Costa Rica. Technically, it was for work, but it was very un-work-like. I went as a chaperone for a group of 18 female undergrads who were preparing to start their semester of student teaching. The two […] -
My Own Personal Canon: Letter from Birmingham Jail
Posted on January 17, 2012 | 4 CommentsDr. Martin Luther King’s famous April 1963 letter, written to his fellow southern clergymen, was not known to me, sadly, until I was a college student, some thirty plus years after it was written. But his words, true and powerful and shining as anything that […] -
Grondahl Restored 6: Caption Contest!
Posted on January 16, 2012 | 8 CommentsCaption Contest Tell us what your caption for this cartoon would be, in the comments below. If you know what the original caption was, don’t tell us. The idea is to be creative, not to be a smarty pants. The prize– well, there is no […] -
Walk to Church (=Yosemite)
Posted on January 15, 2012 | 3 CommentsToday’s walk to church comes to us from Laura in California, who spent a weekend in Yosemite with her family last fall. Laura writes: We had the opportunity to enjoy a last-minute birthday-weekend trip to Yosemite National Park just before the first snows fell in […] -
12 Dear Jack: The Good Daughter
Posted on January 14, 2012 | 2 Comments; Dear Jack, I don’t have a great relationship with my father. He and my mother divorced when I was six, and he became engaged to my stepmother two years later. That relationship is also fraught–throughout my childhood and teenage years, she was emotionally manipulative […] -
Knock and it shall be opened….
Posted on January 13, 2012 | 7 CommentsI've always been intellectually supportive of the mission of Visiting Teaching. Actually making myself do it, or enjoy being on the receiving end- or 'teachee,' as it were- hasn't come as naturally. -
Why All Mormon Women Should Wear Pants to Church
Posted on January 12, 2012 | 191 Comments[Photo Credit] This guest post is written by BDBeal. Yes, it’s a post about women’s dress written by a man . . . ; All groups have their idiosyncrasies. Mormons are no different, although there are days when I suspect we have more […] -
And You and Me Are…
Posted on January 11, 2012 | 10 CommentsMy mother made the dolls by hand. She lovingly stuffed their life-sized bodies, making small neat stitches in their elbow and knee joints to make them seem articulated. She chose wigs and painted their small faces on the smooth nylon surface of their skin. Never […] -
All Hail, Pauline Kael
Posted on January 10, 2012 | 3 CommentsI first came across movie critic Pauline Kael’s work in an undergraduate English course in the early 1980s. John Trimble, author of our textbook Writing with Style, showcased a few vivid examples from her writing for the student to emulate. In particular, I recall exerpts […] -
Ask and It Shall Be Given
Posted on January 9, 2012 | 6 CommentsShe’s the most powerful woman in the LDS hierarchy, and now General Relief Society President Julie Beck is offering to answer questions from the editors of Mormon Mommy Blogs this week. Posing the question to their readers, the floodgates opened on “What would you ask […] -
My Own Personal Canon: Bootless Cries
Posted on January 9, 2012 | 2 CommentsToday I am thinking about a profound lesson I learned as a student at Ricks College. I am thinking about the sacred text that prompted this lesson, its lines inspired, certainly, by the spirit. These lines, written by a prophet of an earlier age, spoke […] -
Grondahl Restored 5
Posted on January 9, 2012 | 4 CommentsThis one’s from Marketing Precedes the Miracle, published in 1987. The later cartoons are more detailed, and a bit edgier than the earlier ones. This cartoon, as always, is posted with the kind permission of The Sunstone Foundation, the publisher, and Calvin Grondahl. Check […] -
Ride to Church in Statesboro, Georgia
Posted on January 8, 2012 | 5 CommentsToday’s Ride to Church comes to us from Michael in Statesboro, Georgia, who writes: I live in the flat farmlands of south Georgia, a change from the mountains of Utah, where I grew up. Rural Georgia has its own beauty, especially in autumn, when the […]